Looking over the food displayed in front of him, Zhi reaches over and picks up a piece of off-white fluffy dough, wrapped around some type of meat. The meat is glazed in a cherry colored sauce with some thinly sliced vegetables layed over the top of it. Holding it up so everyone at the table could see it, Zhi says, “This is what I would call a pork belly roll, or possibly a steamed pork bun depending on the location of where it was made. Normally made from a slightly sweet fluffy dough that is steamed and filled with pork and vegetables.”

As he sets the item on his plate, he picks up two more. Before moving the lazy susan towards Zhao. Yongzheng says, “Those are indeed called a steamed bun, that one is actually called a pork belly steamed bun.” He lifts up another off-white fluffy piece of dough, the top of which is crimped down around the top like a small crown. “This is our normal steamed bun, we have a few types of them. Most are filled with some type of meat or vegetables. A few are set up as a dessert pastry.”

Zhi nods his head while saying, “Thank you for the explanation Yongzheng.” Looking over at Zhao, he waits for the boy to load up his plate. “Okay, the same as before. Take your time eating it and tell me what you find.” Zhao and Zhi both pick up the pork belly steamed bun and begin to eat them. Zhi enjoys the semi-sweet taste of the fluffy bun, combined with the slightly spicy glaze of the pork. A hint of smoke can be made out in his first bite, along with the earthy flavor from the vegetables.

Finishing his portion, he waits for Zhao. Once the boy finished eating his own, he opened his eyes to look over at Zhi before saying, “The bun was slightly sweet, but well cooked. The pork belly was lightly smoked, but seemed to mix well with the glaze it was covered in. Slightly spicy, from some kind of pepper. The vegetables were a nice touch to help balance the overall flavor of the dish. Nothing tasted off that I could tell.” Zhi nods his head, before he looks towards Yongzheng, Zhao also looks over at the man.

Seeing their expectant looks, Yongzheng says “You are correct, the dough is made with a mix of water, milk, butter, flour, salt, yeast and sugar. Giving it the semi-sweet taste. The pork itself is smoked for about 30 mins before being put in an oven to cook for another hour. Then the glaze for the pork is made from a mix of spices and some regional peppers that come from a farming town up river. And the vegetables are from the same town as the peppers.”

Zhi nods towards Younzheng, “Thank you for your assistance. Do it again Zhao, and let's see if you can pick out any of the spices used in the glaze.” Zhi, slightly zones out waiting for Zhao to speak again.

Alright Buddha, let's fix the issue with all those boxes that popped up, why were they so insulting and why was it happening?

[The new skill [Appraising Fate] is based on visual inspection. Default setting is instant info, but the info it gives you is limited to your knowledge base. So if something looks like a bush to you, the skill will tell you it is a bush. Not the kind of bush it is, or if it grows anything. Just that it is a simple bush stupid.]

Okay that makes sense, can we change it to make it work on when I think I want to inspect something? Also what is up with the insults?

[That is just how the skill works, it helps to motivate people to learn more. If you know enough about an item it will no longer insult you about the specific item. It will also improve once your cultivation is higher, because you will be able to inspect your surroundings with spirit sense.]

I am pretty sure I know what a door and teapot are.

[Are you sure? What type of wood is the door made from? What is the weight of the door? How many pieces of wood were used to make the door? How much moisture is currently in the wood? What is the tea pot made of? How much water can]

Alright stop, I get your point. I won’t use [Appraising Fate] except on people, or if I really have no idea what I am looking at. Hopefully it won’t happen too often.

Zhao begins to describe his findings again. Zhi uses [Appraising Fate] to look at the boy again and see if what changed.

-------------------------------

Name: Hai Zhao

Age: 14

Karma: Neutral [51%] towards good.

Dao Paths: None

Cultivation: Xiantian 2/9

Cultivation Technique: None

Constitution: None

Bloodline: None

Occupation: Conman in training

Mood: happy

Talent: Perfect taste [0.42%]

-------------------------------

As he looks over the info, he notices that Talent: Perfect taste [0.44%] increases as the boy explains his findings. When Zhao finished the skill was at [0.45%] “That was good, try the last one now and tell me what you find for the bun itself.” As Zhao begins to eat the next one the skill ticks up another .01% and slowly increases as he eats the pork belly steamed bun.

So what happens when he gets to 100% with his talent?

[He should be able to tell every ingredient, how it was prepared, cooked, if it was ripe, spoiled and a number of other miscellaneous data.]

That sounds like a little too much info to learn from just a bite of food. Almost like magic or something. I mean, the over-salted pork was pretty easy. But I was really surprised when he noticed that the vegetables were slightly undercooked. Normally you would need some experience cooking or at least have someone else point out the difference to you a few times.

[Although it is a talent, it is also helped by his cultivation and Qi. While it is not noticeable, every time he is trying to use his talent. He pulls in a little Qi to help with the process. As he becomes stronger, he will no longer need external Qi and can depend on his body's supply for support.]

Still sounds like magic, but then again I am in another reality with new rules.

Zhi, looking over Zhao’s info once more to check his talent, it has since increased to [0.48%]. He closes out the window and begins to eat another pork belly steamed bun as he listens to Zhao describe what he found again. After the boy is finished he speaks, “Zhao you have a rare talent, one that is incredibly useful to a cook. I would like to train you to be a cook, if you would like to learn that is. I expect nothing from you in return besides an eagerness to learn.”

Zhao’s aunt and uncle both look a bit shocked at what Zhi said. But his aunt actually becomes happy and gives Zhao a hug while speaking. “This is a good opportunity for you, it’s not every day someone offers to teach you for free. I think you should take this chance. Me and your uncle will support you while you learn.” His uncle actually nods in reply to what his wife said.

The room goes quiet, as Zhao thinks it over. Finally coming to a decision he stands up from his chair and walks over to stand in front of Zhi. “Ming Zhi, will you please teach me how to cook and use my talent properly?” He bows formally to Zhi.

Laughing, Zhi replies to the boy. “I would be glad to teach you, but first we need to start with the basics.” Turning to look over at Yongzheng as Zhao returns to his seat. Zhi asks the man, “Yongzheng, would you possibly have room for two prep cooks? You wouldn’t even have to pay us. Just let us come in, give us what needs to be prepared for the day ahead and I will train the boy and make sure it is done.”

“Free labor is always a tempting offer. But I would like to see your skills before I agree to anything. We are open for lunch and dinner, so come in the morning an hour after sunrise and will test you. If you pass my test, I will let you train the boy here and even pay the boy for his work. Your pay will be able to train him here.”

“I can agree to those conditions, me and Zhao will be here bright and early tomorrow. Zhao we are done testing your talent for today, dig in to whatever you want.” Zhao begins to load up items he wants and begins to eat like everyone else.

Zhi, looks over the dishes himself and begins selecting a few items himself. As they eat, the next hour passes relatively smoothly with everyone just enjoying the food while having some small talk. After the meal is over, Zhi asks “I have a few questions I wanted to ask if it is not too much trouble. As you know, I told you I came from far away and that I have just arrived in town today.”

Everyone is watching him as he speaks. “I have no idea about how money works here value wise, and I have no idea where I am going to stay tonight. I would appreciate help with both, since I would like to have a roof over my head and not to get ripped off.”

Zhao’s aunt actually responded first, “Nonsense, you can stay with us since you are going to teach Zhao to cook. I won’t take no for an answer.” Zhao has a hopeless look on his face, like he expected this to happen. While his uncle looks a little upset about it.

“Well that solves one issue for now, I can learn the money system later. I thank you for your hospitality.” Zhi bows his head towards Hai Ya.